


The Past is Never Where You Think You Left It

by areyoukobrakiddingme



Series: Amethyst [1]
Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 09:32:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9065983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/areyoukobrakiddingme/pseuds/areyoukobrakiddingme
Summary: Cherri tags along with Kobra to a small neutral settlement,  only to receive a brutal reminder of his past





	

Cherri leaned his head against the window of the trans am and watched as the desert blurred past. Kobra had a meeting with a shop owner in a neutral town about a day's drive away, and he had decided to tag along to keep him company. They had driven most of the way the night before and stayed in a motel. Now they were heading to their destination. 

“This should only take a few minutes,” Kobra started. “They don't really know you, so you should probably wait outside.”

“That's fine,” Cherri replied. “I could use some fresh air. I've been spending too much time in the shop lately,” he laughed.

“You know, some people think Tommy holds you there against your will,” Kobra joked.

“Yeah? Like who?”

“Well for a while, Fun Ghoul did. He just couldn't understand how someone like you, or anyone really, could spend so much time around him.” They both laughed.

“He does have kind of an abrasive personality, doesn't he?” Cherri said as the settlement came into view. 

“That's an understatement man,” Kobra grinned. He turned the car into the settlement and parked in front of a worn down shack with a bright red sign. They stepped out, and Kobra locked the Trans Am. “I'll be out in a few minutes, alright?” Cherri nodded and leaned against the wall of the shop as Kobra went inside. He took in a deep breath of the warm air and looked at his surroundings.

The settlement was only about the size of a football field and filled with tiny shacks and tents. A few people milled about, taking care of their daily business. Colorful fabrics fluttered in the breeze between houses. It reminded Cherri of some of the places he and his parents stayed when he was young. They had been tumbleweeds, drifting from place to place, never settling down.

Another memory tickled faintly in the back of his mind. Like deja vu. Had he been here before?

Suddenly there was a shout, and Cherri felt a burst of white hot pain in his shoulder. He cried out and stumbled. He'd been shot.

He looked around frantically trying to see where the shot came from. Two men were running toward him from across the street. He reached for his blaster, but another shot hit his hand, causing him to drop it.

“What the-” he was cut off as one of the men punched him and pain burst across his face. Before he could react, the man grabbed him by his collar and pushed him into the street. Cherri gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. 

“You scumbag!” the second man yelled and kicked Cherri in the side as he scrambled to get to his feet. “You fucking shitbag! How dare you show your ugly face around here after what you did!” Another hard kick to the side and Cherri was back on the ground.

“What did I do?” Cherri covered his face with his arms as both men began kicking him. “What the hell did I do? Who are you?”

“You killed my son you piece of shit!” a woman’s voice rang out as a baseball bat slammed into his back. He cried out and tried to crawl away.

“I don’t know what you're talking about!” he shouted as the bat smacked his ribs. He fell to the ground again, and the woman grabbed him by the hair and flipped him over. She straddled his chest and began to punch him furiously. 

Cherri tried to block blow after blow, but the woman was too fast and he was too weak from fighting the other two. He heard a loud popping sound as he felt his nose break, and he could feel blood dripping down his face.

“Wha-” the woman slammed his head into the ground and everything spun. He tried to get his bearings when she stopped attacking for a moment to catch her breath. “What are you talking about? Please st-stop!” The woman looked absolutely disgusted by him. She grabbed the dog tags hanging around his neck and pulled until the string snapped.

“You're that scum who killed my son!” she shoved the tags in his face then threw them to the ground. “You. Killed. My. Son.” Each word was punctuated with a punch, tears forming in her eyes.

Cherri was beginning to lose focus when there was the sound of a door flying open.

“HEY! What the hell are you doing?” Kobra shouted. “Get away from him!” His ray gun was aimed at the group. 

“Shit,” one of the men hissed under his breath. “That's Kobra Kid.” The woman stepped off of Cherri, and all three stepped back when they realized who was pointing a gun at them. Cherri rolled to his side and coughed. He spit blood onto the road, and Kobra rushed over to him, gun still pointed at the attackers. They stepped further back with each step he took.

“Why are you defending him?” the woman cried. “Why are you defending this murderer?” Kobra didn't respond. Instead, he bent down to grab Cherri, not taking his eye off them. He wrapped an arm around his chest and pulled him to his feet. Cherri tried to gain footing but couldn't stay up. Kobra pulled him toward the trans am.

The men joined the woman in shouting curses at them as they trudged to the car. Cherri noticed that a crowd had formed, and Kobra stayed alert with his gun ready to fire. He leaned Cherri against the car and fished his keys out of his pocket, opened the doors, and shoved Cherri into the backseat. Then he bent down to grab the dog tags, jumped into the driver's seat, and started the car.

“K-kobra,” Cherri started weakly.

“Shh, hold on, ok?,” Kobra replied softly. He pulled away from the shop and sped out of the settlement s fast as the old car would go.

Cherri laid across the back seat and grimaced. His head was swimming as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. 

The woman had been shouting that he had killed her son. The vague feeling that he had been to the town before was more tangible now. Back in the days when he was addicted to things harder than just the sun’s radiation and involved with some nasty people, he had been there hunting a draculoid with a fellow addict, and things had gone terribly wrong. They had engaged with the drac, and just as Cherri had gone to make a killing shot, it ducked. The laser had gone over its head and hit a bystander in the chest. He hadn't realized the boy had died. He could barely remember that it had happened. _Drugs will do that to you_ , he thought as he let out a sigh. He felt sick to his stomach.

\---

After several minutes of driving in silence, Kobra stopped the trans am in front of the motel they had stayed at the night before. He rushed to the back and carefully pulled a dazed Cherri out of the car.

His face was covered in cuts and bruises, and his left eye was swelling up, blood was dripping from his broken nose, and there was a charred hole in his shirt over his left shoulder. Blistering red burns had formed there and on his right hand where he had been shot. Blood was smeared around all over his face and shirt, and Kobra could only imagine the bruises forming underneath the blue fabric.

“Kobra… Kobra hold on a sec,” Cherri choked out before pushing himself out of Kobra’s arms and emptying his stomach onto the ground. Kobra knelt beside him, rubbing his back.

“Hey, let's go get you cleaned up, okay?” Kobra said once Cherri was done vomiting. Cherri nodded and stood up with help from Kobra. They slowly made their way to their room, Cherri leaning heavily on Kobra.

When they got inside, Kobra sat Cherri down on the bed, steadying him to make sure he wouldn't collapse, and went to the bathroom for the first aid kit. 

“How do you feel?” he asked softly when he returned. Cherri took in a painful breath.

“L-like shit,” he laughed spitefully. He hissed in pain and gripped his side. “Ahhh.” Kobra sat down next to him and opened the kit, especially concerned now that he could hear Cherri’s stutter coming through, something that only happened when he was extremely distressed. 

“What the hell happened out there?” Kobra asked as he began cleaning Cherri’s face.

“They r-recognized me from my Drac h-hunting days,” Cherri said, almost inaudible. “I killed that woman's son.” Both were silent for a moment. “Kobra I killed… I killed her son, and I c-cou-couldn't even remember it,” he said a bit louder, his voice cracked. He put his head in his hands.

“Cherri-”

“I've done so many horrible things Kobra. I try to make up for it, I really do, but how can I make up for things like th-that? Especially when I can't even remember them?” Cherri started sobbing. “Kobra I'm a horrible person. I deserved this.”

Kobra was speechless.

“You should just… just leave me Kobra. I'm only going to bring you trouble. I-”

Kobra pulled Cherri into a hug. This time Cherri was speechless. Kobra ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his back.

“Shh… Cherri stop,” he murmured. “You are not horrible. That group you were with had you on some messed up stuff back then. That wasn't you.” Cherri opened his mouth to protest but Kobra continued, pulling him closer as he shuddered. “Cherri, they made you do terrible things, but you're not with them any more. You aren't you a killer. You know who you are? You're Cherri Cola. You're an amazing poet, you're sober, you're gentle and kind, you name every plant you own, you’re brave, and I can't even begin to count how many times you've helped people even when it cost you. You're the most amazing man I've ever met.”

They were both crying now.

“Okay, Cherri? Dammit. You didn't deserve this”

Cherri nodded into Kobra’s shoulder and gripped him tighter.

“More amazing than Mad Gear?” Cherri muttered into his shoulder. Kobra pulled away and brushed Cherri's hair out of his eyes.

“Hmm… good question,” Kobra answered softly. It was a good sign if Cherri could make jokes.

“Thank you Kobra,” Cherri whispered into his shoulder.

“I'm gonna finish cleaning you up now, okay?” he leaned over and kissed Cherri on the top of his head before shifting him and wiping the blood from his face.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a dream I had, though the ending of the dream was a bit darker


End file.
